Source: Cowboys 'Narrowing Focus' To Surtain Vs. Horn

Dallas has put in the middle of the war room table a discussion about cornerbacks, South Carolina's Horn vs. Alabama's Surtain

Mike Fisher | Apr 26, 2021

FRISCO - We don't interpret this as meaning the Dallas Cowboys are thinking of just one position at the exclusion of other possibilities, but a source tells us that "America's Team,'' owner of the No. 10 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, are "narrowing the focus'' to a debate between Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn.

The 2021 NFL Draft is Thursday and the team's draft board is likely all but set. Countless in-house simulations (mock drafts, basically) have taken place. The names of Kyle Pitts, Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater are among those still in play.

But that trio, plus as many as five quarterbacks, could be drafted within the top nine picks. That distinct possibility - plus maybe Dallas' bullishness on the healthy return of a trio of O-line stars - has put in the middle of the war room table a discussion about cornerbacks, South Carolina's Horn and Alabama's Surtain II.

As we discuss below, the Cowboys coaches may be leaning toward Horn, while the Cowboys scouts may favor Surtain.

Surtain is the more polished of the two; Horn plays with a noticeably assertive edge. The tale of the tape is otherwise similar enough, with Horn having the advantage in speed.

The first defensive player taken in this draft might be taken by Dallas - unless a team trades up ahead of the Cowboys to take Surtain; the Cowboys themselves, as we've reported, have talked with Detroit at No. 7 about such a move.

Surtain's pre-Draft visit with the Cowboys featured him saying, "My technique and my IQ on the field (are my strengths). I just think I'm fundamentally sound."

Horn's pre-Draft visit with the Cowboys featured him saying, "I feel like I'm the best corner in the draft, hands-down.''

Which player is going to be right about himself ... and right in Dallas? It is "increasingly'' coming down to these two.

Published Apr 26, 2021

MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.